


Panchali and The Stupid Dhakkan

by annsgopal94, Sairandhri



Category: Mahabharata - Vyasa, महाभारत | Mahabharat (TV 2013)
Genre: Cheating, F/M, Law School, Making Up, fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-13
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-03-01 07:30:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2764859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annsgopal94/pseuds/annsgopal94, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sairandhri/pseuds/Sairandhri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which our hero flirts with one who is NOT his girlfriend, only for said girlfriend to find out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Panchali and The Stupid Dhakkan

"And _that_ ,” she yelled, “Is why I’m returning this to you!” A ball of cloth hit Karna squarely on his chest and unfurled at his feet. She hadn’t wanted to do that. She really liked that sweatshirt-- it was pretty, and big, and grey, and smelt of him. Panchali had nicked it from him on that trip to Mussoorie, and had never given it back since. He hadn’t minded. In fact, she had always thought he got a kick out of seeing her wear it.

“All that is very well,” he said, picking up and folding his sweatshirt. “But you do realize that the shirt you’re currently wearing is mine too, don’t you?”

Panchali looked down at her check-flannel shirted torso. _Shit._

“And since you’re returning all of my material possessions to me,” he continued, “I’d like that back too.” He cocked his head to a side. “Right now.”

Panchali’s chest heaved with disbelief. His calm, slightly amused expression only further added to her chagrin. If she released a Patronus right that moment, it would most probably be a very, _very_ angry bull. She opened her mouth to say something caustic and hard hitting, but closed it again.

“Fine,” she finally snapped. “ _Fine_ , I’m going, and I’ll be back with your stupid shirt in less than two minutes. Time me if you want.” And with that, she turned on her heel and made to stride right out of his stupid room in this stupid hostel to her stupid room in her stupid hostel across the stupid lawn with its stupidly mowed grass and stupidly pruned hedges.

Except that when she reached the door, it wouldn’t open. She yanked at the doorknob, once, twice, thrice. Karna appeared beside her just as her leg prepared to kick her way through.

“Whoa, easy, miss. Do you want to get me into trouble with the warden?”

“Your stupid door isn’t opening,” she grit through her teeth.

“That’s because it opens the other way.” He turned the knob and pushed.

Nothing. The door was locked.

“See! Do you think I’m stupid?! That I can’t open a door?”

“You need to stop saying ‘stu--’”

“So now you’re going to tell me what to do?!”

“I didn’t _say_ that! I just meant--”

“Let me out of this room right this second or I will--”

“Calm down! It’s locked!” He turned the knob and pushed again. “The door’s locked, see?”

“Well then,” Panchali threw her hands up, “Get the key. Get the key, open that door and let me out.”

“I don’t have the key.”

“What? What kind of an idiot doesn’t have the key to his own room?”

Karna’s face clearly spelled exasperation. “ _Well_ , a) I am _not_ an idiot. As a student of Law you should think twice before using that word. And—” he held up his hand to stop her from interrupting this time “—and b) The key is in my bag, which…” he looked around, “…went with Sahdev two seconds before you came in.”

“So you mean to say that Sahdev locked us in?”

“Not necessarily, it could have been anyone who shut the door because your voice… carries,” he finished sheepishly, running a hand through his hair.

Panchali’s eyes narrowed. “So you mean I caused this? This is MY fault?!”

Karna rolled his eyes. “No. I mean that we’ll have to wait for Sahdev.”

“Why don’t you just call him and tell him to get his butt over here right now?”

“Good idea,” he said, pulling his phone out. Panchali’s foot tapped impatiently as Karna dialed Sahdev’s number and put the phone to his ear. Two seconds later, a mechanical voice informed him that there were barely two paisa worth of balance in his account and he sighed. He looked up to see Panchali standing with her head raised to the skies as if in pleading, one hand on her waist and the other over her eyes.

“Don’t you…” he began.

“No,” she said, eyes still closed. “My phone is in my room.”

“Who even leaves their phone behind anymore?” Karna hissed accusingly.

Oh did Panchali see red after _that_. “Don’t _even_ with me. You’re the one with no balance-- what you couldn’t find the time to go to a kirana store and get some talktime?! I’m not your girlfriend anymore! You are going to have to do it yourself!”

“What I can’t FUNCTION without you--”

“You clearly fu- frickin’ can’t!” She remembered her no-swearing-for-a-month promise to Subhadra.

Karna’s eyebrows shot up his forehead. “Oh excuse me Missus--” 

“That’s ALL YOU HAVE KARNA. EXCUSES.”

“You keep like this for a while longer and the judge will have you thrown out for contempt!”

“THIS ISN’T A COURTROOM!” She looked slightly deranged. Her hair had come loose of her plait and looked like a windblown halo around her head. Karna backtracked. “Panchali, look, I accept that I was flirting, but it’s not even _that_ big a deal... I mean I’m still here with you, ain’t I?”

That was a wrong thing to say. A lesser man would have cowered under her gaze. Panchali couldn’t believe what she was hearing. _How was flirting NOT a big deal with him? Was he even real?!_

Karna was befuddled… He hadn’t known that it meant so much to Panchali. He hadn’t actually wanted to say anything to that First Year… but then Duryodhan had pointed out her legs (“Dude taange dekho!”). It was Duryodhan’s fault. It was _always_ Duryodhan’s fault. 

“Not a big deal? It’s **not a big deal**?! Flirting or coquetry is a social and sometimes sexual activity involving verbal or written communication as well as body language by one person to another, suggesting _an interest in a deeper relationship with the other person_ ,” she spat, her mouth puckering triumphantly.

Karna recoiled in awe. “What, is that by rote?!”

But she had shut off, her face scrunching up tragically... Karna recognized the signs of angry crying. He was right. Panchali’s breath started to come in fits and starts and her teeth were practically tearing off her lower lip. She turned away from him, her shoulders shaking. Karna was genuinely alarmed now. He touched her arm. “Hey, you okay?”

But Panchali shrugged his hand off, her fists clenched in front of her face, as if to say ‘What sort of ASININE question is that?!’

Karna apparently realized that, and walked around to face her. Just as her breath hitched, he wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head under his chin. “Shh. Seriously Panchali, it was nothing. I swear on my term paper that I was just flirting with her…” Panchali made to push him away and he hastily added, “OR, if we go by your definition, I wasn’t flirting at all.”

“Then pray tell: what _were_ you doing?” She said, her voice muffled by his chest.

“I really… Panchali, there’s no _definition_ for this-- I mean, I was… I was talking to her. Bas. Nothing more. Honestly why do I even _have_ to give you an explanation...”

“I’m not asking for one, am I?” she murmured. Hurt Panchali was worse than ballistic Panchali.

“Love, I really don’t know what to say… I _am_ sorry, I didn’t think it would matter, but it clearly did to you… then again… what does it matter when it is you I love?”

She mumbled something into his shirt.

“What was that?”

She looked up, her tear streaked cheeks sharp under furrowed eyebrows. “You’re the jerkiest idiot ever.”

Karna’s chest rumbled with a laugh. “And you’re the soppiest sop ever.”

“I’m not a sop!” She smacked his shoulder.

“Yes you are!”

“No! I am HARDCORE, I will have you know. HARDCORE. I am HARDCORE TO THE CORE.”

“Hardcore to the core eh?” he said, stroking her back.

“Are you thinking dirty thoughts?”

“Well, baby,” he held up his wrist, “Your two minutes are long over. I want my shirt back.”

Time paused for a heartbeat. Then her eyes danced with mischief. “Then take it,” she whispered, and then she was gone from the circle of his arms.

She skittered around his tiny room, clutching onto the shirt as she skirted behind the couch. “Take it if you can!”

“Panchali!” He climbed over the couch and lunged at her, catching hold of a fistful of the fabric on her back. She slammed into him and both fell on the couch, laughing.

“I really _really_ like this shirt, you know…” he said, his hands sneaking under the hem to trace the bare skin of her waist, raising goosebumps.

“Then keep it,” she said, unbuttoning it. She took the shirt off as she straddled him, feeling him rise to arousal under her. His hand reached up to cup her face and she leaned into the touch, touching her lips to his palm. But instead of bending down into a kiss, she took off again, running away in jeans and a brasserie.

“Hey!” He lurched up into the space where she had been only moments ago. “That’s not fair!” And he took off after her.

Panchali backed into the door, her breath coming in gasps, her skin singing its own song. He placed both his hands on either side of her face, and whispered, “Won’t you let me kiss your neck?” The vein in her neck twitched in anticipation and when he set his tongue to it, it felt like taking a swan dive off the Qutub Minar. Her fingertips travelled up his back, feeling his shoulderblades, stroking up and down his spine. Karna pulled his t-shirt over his shoulders, his head emerging with a ruffle of hair atop it. Panchali bit down a laugh and ran her hand through his hair, pulling his head back to kiss his Adam’s apple and trail her lips to his ear. She nuzzled the side of his face, feeling him smiling against her neck. “What, are you Bambi?” he whispered.

Panchali’s face split into a grin as the space between their lips lessened to zero. Karna pushed forward as Panchali’s lips parted, and the kiss deepened. He had felt the warmth of her breath on his face as their noses traced the other’s cheeks. Panchali’s eyes were closed, her thumbs hooked into his waistband. Karna’s hands slipped off her hair-tie and loosened out her braid. Both of them were pressed so closely together that each could feel the planes of the other’s body.

She never wanted it to end. 

Panchali’s eyes flew open as Karna’s lips moved down to her chest. A loop of “this is perfect, this is perfect” was playing in her head. But she really hadn’t wanted to wait that day.

She pulled his head back and gazed into his eyes questioningly. “Yes?” she whispered. “Yes,” he said, and carried her to his narrow bed.  
\----------

Panchali's lashes fluttered as she lazily opened and closed her eyes. It was like those "thinkers" in the movies-- they could never stop flicking the light switch and Panchali’s eyes were like that. She couldn’t stop opening and closing them.

“Why are you thinking? Stop it please,” Karna drawled, running his index finger down the bridge of her nose. She stayed still.

“What did you think you were doing when you spoke to her?” she asked amusedly.

“I really thought I was only talking… then she said something about how it was so hot, and how she got into trouble for wearing shorts, so I said well, Panchali’s always complaining about how hot it is, so maybe she can help you with it, when Dury sensed that she was getting bored, and you came over--”

“That’s all?” she said, raising her head from the hard pillow. “That’s what you got into trouble for? You said you were flirting you idiot!”

“That’s not flirting?” he asked, eyes widening to saucers.

“For fu--vada paav’s sake, is that what you think flirting is?! You DHAKKAN!” She said, flinging her lingerie over his head.

“VADA PAAV?! Can you please go back to balls to the wall wali gaalis?” he groaned, with the bra hanging off his ear comically.

“Karna…” Panchali started to say, but she was too busy laughing to continue.

\----------

Three blocks away, in a snug corner of the library, Sahdev smirked.

 

**Author's Note:**

> SONG INSPIRATION:  
> Medicine by The 1975
> 
> Our tumblrs: [annsgopal94](http://annsgopal94.tumblr.com/) | [Sairandhri](http://nirantar.tumblr.com/)
> 
> The idea of Subhadra making Draupadi promise to not swear for a month (in exchange for a treat) was [phandomoftheowl](http://archiveofourown.org/users/phandomoftheowl)'s


End file.
